Father Goose, Mother Goose
by WingzofFeather
Summary: Gold is feeling down because he can't get three eggs to hatch. Crystal takes him to the orphanage in an attempt to cheer him up. Cue humour, angst, and fluff!


**Disclaimer: Ha! I wish I owned Pokemon Special! But I don't…**

* * *

Gold was not having a good day so far.

In fact, he had had a pretty bad week. Not great at all. He had just spent the last two hours trying to hatch three eggs. These particular eggs had refused to hatch for a month. Apparently the Pokemon inside really didn't want to leave their warm and protective shell. Either that or – Gold didn't want to think about that. That had happened once; he didn't want to go through that again. But still, what could be wrong?

Of the Dex Holders, Gold was "The Hatcher." The guy had hatched forty-seven Pokemon to date. It was what he described to the other Dex Holders as his hobby, even though he knew it meant more to him than that. He felt an unexplainable mix of emotions when he helped a Pokemon into the world: excitement, wonder, and joy were the ones he could name. He looked forward to the moment a Pokemon poked its head out into the world for the first time more than anything. The young man lived in a large house in which dozens of Pokemon resided with him and his mom. He was an expert in Pokemon birth and care and yet, at the moment he felt like he knew nothing.

He knew he had to be careful not to get too frustrated over this. As he had first learned with his Pichu, feeling a strong emotion while he was near an egg almost always made it hatch. And that Pokemon often took on a nature reminiscent of that emotion. It wouldn't do for him to get so frustrated that the three Pokemon hatched to become perpetually agitated.

Under normal circumstances, Gold just kept the egg warm, kept it close to him, and talked to it – though he preferred that his fellow Dex Holders didn't know that last bit. If he did those things, the egg would hatch in one to three weeks. A strong emotion was rarely needed, which was good, considering Gold wasn't one of those people that could feel emotions on demand. However, it was beginning to look like that was what he needed to do. The eggs were at least a week overdue and it wasn't looking like they were going to hatch anytime soon.

With a sigh, Gold gathered the three eggs in his arms, closed his eyes, and focused on channeling happy and encouraging thoughts into the young life inside them.

* * *

It had been yet another hour and the eggs were still unhatched. Gold was getting more and more agitated. He opened his eyes and glanced up at the clock on his bedroom wall to find it was already noon. He had been at it ever since he woke up three hours ago. The usually energetic Gold hadn't even changed out of his pyjamas yet. Deciding that it was time for a change of pace, Gold changed into his clothes and picked up the eggs once again. He hollered a quick goodbye to his mom and headed out for a walk.

It was windy out. It was nice temperature wise, but windy. Gold held on to the eggs tighter, afraid they would blow out of his hold. He hadn't come this far with them only to have them smashed on the ground. The young man walked down the streets of Goldenrod, eyes trained to the ground, so deep in thought he didn't even notice when he nearly bumped into some people. He didn't notice her until he heard her voice coming from behind him.

"Gold?"

* * *

Crystal was not having a good start to her day.

She had had a good week. A great week actually. The young woman had been doing fieldwork for Professor Oak. The professor could tell she had been bored researching in the office; she was itching to get out there and catch Pokemon again! But she had already caught all the Pokemon in the Kanto, Jhoto, and Hoenn regions, barring legendaries. She would have gone to Sinnoh, Unova, or Kalos to catch Pokemon there but according to Oak himself, he didn't want one of his most reliable researchers so far away. Luckily, Oak was resourceful and found her the perfect task. He came up to her on Monday and announced that she would be re-catching all of the Pokemon she had previously caught for his research, but in shiny form! It was the perfect challenge!

So for the past week, Crystal had been traveling around Jhoto in search of shiny Pokemon. She had managed to find and catch two so far. It was more difficult than she imagined but she was enjoying every minute of it. She had also been gathering as many different berries as she could find. She still worked at Earl's Pokemon Academy on Saturdays. There was no official school on Saturdays but the live-in orphans needed someone to look after them and have fun with them while school was out. She had it in the back of her mind that she would gather the berries and make poffins with the kids. However, the plan hit a snag that morning.

Crystal had woken up at her usual time, eight-o-clock. She had gotten dressed and was about to make her breakfast when she caught sight of a bright pink note on the fridge.

_Crys,_

_Thanks for the berrieeees!_

_~Mom_

Crystal opened the fridge door to find every last berry gone. The young woman groaned out loud. She knew she shouldn't be surprised; her mom often did things without thinking, much like a certain golden-eyed friend of hers. She found herself in situations like this so often between the two of them that she had actually started keeping score. As of this morning, her mom was winning – or losing, depending on how she chose to look at it. If she hadn't told Mr. Earl about her plans in passing earlier that week, she would have forgotten about the berries and come up with a different activity. Unfortunately, she had and she felt responsible. Sighing, Crystal took out her PokeGear and called Mr. Earl to tell him she'd be a little late that morning.

* * *

So that was how Crystal found herself walking the streets of Goldenrod, toting three bags heavy with the weight of two hundred berries. Ten berries each for the twenty orphans at the Academy. In order to regain the variety she had yesterday, she had to go shopping at the supermarket in the largest city of Jhoto. It wasn't a cheap supermarket either, she had to use her own money and what she'd budgeted for herself for the next week was nearly gone.

The young woman was currently heading back to the Pokemon Centre. She had to drop her Xatu off there earlier. Poor Xatee needed some pampering after carrying her all over Jhoto throughout the week and flying her to Goldenrod against the wind that morning. Crystal didn't realize who he was until he'd walked past her, nearly bumping into her in the process. She recognized the goggles on his head. Crystal was surprised; usually he was the first to spot a fellow Dex Holder and the first to say an enthusiastic greeting. She turned to face him.

"Gold?"

She watched as Gold almost jumped in shock and glanced back at her.

"Oh…Hey, Crys."

Crystal's eyebrows rose a little. Normally Gold used every chance he could get to call her by the nickname he'd given her. The few times he called her "Crys" instead of "Super Serious Gal" were usually when they were fighting an enemy or when he was in a bad mood; both were rare enough. He had to be in a bad mood, she hadn't heard any reports of an evil organization roaming around Jhoto. Gold still hadn't rotated his whole body towards her yet. She could tell he was holding something though.

"What are you doing?" she ventured.

"I was just…thinking."

Crystal's eyebrows rose a little higher. Gold and thinking? Not really a noun and a verb Crystal would use together. It wasn't like he was incapable of thought, there were times he could be really thoughtful, but that was also somewhat rare…

Catching the slight change in her expression, Gold gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I know, tragic isn't it?"

A little embarrassed that Gold had guessed what she was thinking, Crystal changed the subject.

"You didn't come by the lab this week," she stated. "I wasn't there during the days but I was there in the evenings when you usually come by."

Gold didn't reply.

Crystal's eyebrows completely disappeared under her bangs. Gold frequented the lab at least once a week in the evening to socialize with her. He never listened to her when after an hour or two she told him she needed to get back to work. The result was usually him saying his goodbye in the late evening, leaving her with the need to work late. Though she'd never admit it, she looked forward to his visits, despite how annoying he could be. Particularly with his habits of touching things he shouldn't in the lab and flirting with her. If the fact that he didn't show up didn't surprise her, the fact that he didn't give her smart reply along the lines of, "Why? Did you miss me?" did.

Crystal scanned Gold's face, taking in the furrowed brow, the frown, and the worry in his golden eyes. The expression was one more befitting of her than him. She knew something was wrong. She decided to find out what and help if she could.

"I'm trying to get back to the Pokemon Centre to pick up Xatee. I got there just fine but I can't remember where it is now." It wasn't a lie, Crystal really had forgotten. She didn't know Goldenrod City like she knew Violet City. Of course, she could always check her PokeGear but that what defeat her true objective. "Will you show me the way?"

Gold sighed. "Alright. It's this way."

As he turned around and walked past her, Crystal spotted the three eggs he was holding. She had a hunch now. She fell in step with Gold, looked at him, and asked the pivotal question.

"What's wrong, Gold?"

He looked back at her and stayed silent for a few seconds. She knew he was considering what to do; he never liked bothering people with his worries when he had them. She saw his eyes take on shiny quality, not the good kind, and he finally spoke.

"I don't know what to do, Crys."

Gold told her everything. As they walked, he explained. Crystal listened, her expression growing more and more sympathetic and concerned. The bags were heavy hanging from her hands but she knew the eggs in his arms were even heavier, weighing him down more than she had ever seen him weighed down before. Except for that one time. Crystal really hoped this wasn't a repeat of that time. Gold had been inconsolable for a week. This time there were three eggs…she didn't want to think about that.

Just as Gold finished explaining that he had tried everything, they reached the Pokemon Centre.

"Well, here it is. Thanks for listening Crys… See ya." Gold started to walk off.

Crystal quickly called out, "No, wait! I'll be right back, don't go anywhere."

She ran into the Pokemon Centre. Gold did what she requested and stood still staring up at the sky.

* * *

About five minutes later, Crystal exited the Pokemon Centre, Xatee in tow, with a determined look on her face.

"Get out your Togekiss, I need to head over to Earl's Pokemon Academy now and you're coming with me."

Gold stared at her, confused.

Crystal's eyes softened and she gently asked, "Do you really think I'd leave you alone like this?"

Gold felt a rush of gratitude towards his friend. Although he didn't want to burden her with his problem, he really didn't want to be alone at the moment.

He gave her a genuine, albeit tiny, smile and replied, "Of course not." His smile disappeared. "But I'm just gonna be a downer on the kids though."

Now it was Crystal's turn to smile. "You may know a lot about young Pokemon but you obviously don't know a lot about young children. When a child sees an unhappy person, they don't usually become unhappy themselves. Instead they try their absolute hardest to be happier and cheer up the person. I think being around the kids will be quite therapeutic for you right now. Besides, if there's one thing I've learned about kids, they are wise in ways we aren't. These guys also have the added bonus of attending the best school in Jhoto. So who knows? Maybe they can figure out how to hatch those eggs."

Gold kind of doubted the last part but he knew he could use some distraction anyway. So he released Togebo and climbed on his back.

"Lead the way then." And with that, he lifted off into the air.

Taking the cue from Gold, Xatee grabbed Crystal's shoulders and launched after him. Crystal flew a little ahead of him and looked back.

"It's going to be fine Gold." Even though she knew no such thing for certain.

Gold looked at her and replied to keep her from worrying about him more, for he knew very well that's what she was doing, "Yeah."


End file.
